FUMARIACEAE 



FUMITORY FAMILY 



DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES 



Dicentra Cucullaria (L.) Bernh. 



The Fumitory family is relatively small and economi- 

 cally unimportant save for a few garden flowers such as 

 Bleeding Heart. 



The Dutchman's Breeches occurs from Nova Scotia^tojLake 

 Huron and Minnesota, 

 southward to North Caro- 

 lina and Missouri. It is 

 quite common throughout 

 most of its territory and 

 along with its relative the 

 Squirrel Corn, page 122, 

 frequently takes possession 

 of considerable areas. 



The delicate smooth 

 stems arise 5-10 inches high 

 from a cluster of small per- 

 ennial tubers packed so 

 closely together as to have 

 the appearance of a scaly 

 bulb. The feathery ternate- 

 ly compound, basal leaves 

 are slender petioled and a 

 shade lighter green beneath. 



The plant receives its 

 common name from the 



white or occasionally pink-tinted, dainty and yellow-tipped 

 flowers, which remind one of a pair of inverted pantaloons. The 

 2 leglike spurs are petals modified into this peculiar shape. Two 

 other, narrow and smaller petals are at right angles to the larger, 

 with their tips extended to form an arch over the 6 yellow 

 stamens. There are only 2 sepals, very small and scalelike. The 

 pistil has a very slender style and a 2-lobed stigma. These deli- 

 cate flowers, i-io on a single stalk, appear in April and May and 

 should be looked for in rich woods. 



The daisy's bloom on the meadow's breast. 



The wandering bee 



And his ceaseless quest 

 Of the tempting sweets in the clover's crest, 



Are the joys of a summer morning. 

 The Joys of a Summer Morning — Henery A. Wise Wood 



121 



